April 13, 1873: 60 African Americans are killed in the Colfax Massacre


With the conclusion of the Civil War, the question on what to do with the newly freed blacks was at the forefront of the national consciousness. In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, forever freeing slaves in the United States. The subsequent 14th and 15th Amendments were later ratified, providing African Americans with voting and civil rights. However, as Reconstruction progressed in the South, Americans increasingly grew tired of the issue of black civil rights. By the 1870’s, white Democrats has regained some their lost power.

In the wake of the Louisiana gubernatorial election of 1873, a group of white Democrats attacked the courthouse in Colfax. Inside were many newly enfranchised black votes unsuspectingly casting their votes for the first time. The whites surrounded the court as if to besiege it. All the African Americans surrendered to the crowd. As they emerged from the courthouse, the whites gunned them down. In all, it is estimated that the Colfax massacre resulted in the deaths of at least 60 to maybe 153 African Americans. The Colfax Massacre is considered the worst incident of racial violence throughout the entirety of the Reconstruction Era.

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